Above: Jared Spry (24) used his quickness to get by the Wrenshall Wren guard defending him. Right: Brandon Curtis put up a shot over an outstretched arm to score 2 of his team-leading 17 points against the Wrens. Far right: Richie Furlong took an off-balanced shot that hit nothing but net. Furlong scored 4 points against Wrenshall.
A senior-led Wrenshall Wrens team was a little too quick and a little too slick for a young Cook County Vikings team which lost 52-40 on Friday night, December 6 at home.
The final score didn’t mean the Vikings weren’t in the contest though. It just meant that any time the Vikings started to close the gap Wrenshall had an answer, usually in the form of center Jared Kittle (17 points) and speedy guard Marcus Virginia (11 points).
At halftime the Vikings trailed 32-17, but they outscored the Wrens 23-20 over the second half and looked on several occasions like they were ready to close the gap even more, but they couldn’t quite get the shots to fall when they needed them the most.
Although they lost, the Vikings had plenty to cheer about, especially with the play of forwards Brandon Curtis, who hit for 17 points, and Jamie Wick, 15 points. Both rebounded well and played tough defense. Senior center Jonny Jacobsen had a quiet night offensively, scoring 4 points, but played well on defense, and he had 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Junior guard Richie Furlong and sophomore guard Jared Spry each scored 2 points and both did a good job of protecting the ball and distributing it to their teammates, setting up some easy baskets on drives in the lane.
Head Coach Pat Eliasen missed the game due to health reasons, but his assistant Rick Crawford coached the team and did a good job running the show.
Boys lose to South Ridge
The Cook County Vikings faced a stern test when they met South Ridge in Culver on Tuesday, December 10, losing 87-44.
“They came out in a full-court press and we couldn’t handle the pressure,” said Head Coach Eliasen, adding, “We had a lot of turnovers. They stayed in a full-court press for about 75 percent of the game. We just didn’t have enough experience to deal with it. It’s something we will work on in practice.”
After trailing 4-2 the Vikings fell behind 34-4 at the half.
One Viking player who stood out was senior forward Brandon Curtis.
“Brandon played fantastic. He scored 14 points and I think he had about 9 rebounds. He had a terrific game,” Eliasen said.
Seeing his first action of the year, junior guard Lars Scannell scored 9 points while shaking some rust off of his game. Other Vikings who scored points were Jonny Jacobsen, 6, Jamie Wick, 5, and Richie Furlong, 4. Seth Warren and Leo Johnson each finished with 2 points.
Next up for the Vikings is a game against Two Harbors this Friday, December 13 at home, and then they play an away game against Mountain Iron Buhl on Monday, December 16.e
Leave a Reply